


Let Me Help You

by UnapologeticallyMeatwad



Category: Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anakin is an Abusive Ex, Asajj Ventress Lives, Enemies to Friends With a Detour Back to Enemies But Then Straight Ahead to Lovers, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Learning to Fight for Yourself, Lightsaber Battles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 18:29:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20262583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnapologeticallyMeatwad/pseuds/UnapologeticallyMeatwad
Summary: But there is one piece against the stone that does not match the shadows and patterns — it stands against the gray as pure black. Asajj then understands that the presence of the Force in this cave is not from anything ethereal or ancient to this place, it is because of the shadow. This… man.The black shape shifts and takes one slow step forwards, his outline shifting with his slow gait, shape still reaching back to the wall. Likely a cape. He bows his helm, and the light kicks up far enough to reveal the expressionless mask. More machine than man, but just as powerful as any organic. He breathes, and it echoes all around. She can feel the air push against his burnt lip, and she admittedly flinches when he extends a closed fist to the air.The man cocks his head to the side, and in a deep, booming voice, says, "You will bring me Ahsoka Tano."





	Let Me Help You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LittleRaven](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleRaven/gifts).

> To LittleRaven:
> 
> I have only seen some of _Clone Wars_, and none of _Rebels_. But I love these characters unconditionally, and hopefully did them justice. Thank you for the prompt, this was really fun to write.
> 
> The Canon Divergence is that Asajj is alive. This takes place a year or so out from _Revenge of the Sith_. Ahsoka is trying to support the Rebellion by finding Jedi, and Asajj is working for whoever will pay her as a bounty hunter.

Three words and three words alone are spoken to Asajj Ventress when she enters the cave: Do Not Kill.

They come from the phantom lips of someone who is probably finely attuned to the Force — which is just great really. After everything that happened, she really just wants to stay attached to the Force like a toddler and their respective mother's side. Ugh. That's what she gets for taking someone up on a job from a bar in Mos Eiseley.

An hour passes after the voice speaks directly to her mind, a very boring hour at that. Asajj considers using her sabers to give her some inkling of light, but knows that they might draw attention to her. It's possible she's been surrounded ever since setting foot here, but given the _rules_ of this job, it would likely better her odds to stay in the dark. So she trudges along.

When the hour ends and it is still undefinable as to how deep into this trek she is, Asajj pulls free her dual lightsabers and ignites them. The red light casts a soft glow over the ground, revealing jagged stone that her boots balance upon. But perhaps she already knew what the stone floor looked like. Though she rarely gives herself over to the Force in the world of the Galactic Empire — mostly to keep herself inconspicuous, but also to keep her mind away from what once was — she's known the shape of the cave for some time. The Force is strong here, demanding to be seen and shaped.

As the red light strikes the ground, the cavern walls flare more vibrantly into view than they should appear. The extra light comes from from the backlight of blaster bolts. From all over, unseen men fire away. Exactly twenty seven of them, Asajj feels their hearts beat in perfect unison, a clear cut sign of Clones.

So perhaps this is a trap? Ensnare the former Sith into a scary cave and then shred her into Kingdom Come?

Blocking the bolts is no difficult task, her thin limbs twirl around her, scooping up the bolts and lobbing them back into the cavern walls. She quickens her pace, trying to avoid having a perimeter on her, while she dances with her blades. The ground rises fast, and when her neck cranes up, she sees the cavern wall before her sloped elegantly like an ocean wave, the never ending onslaught of red light enough to give her a vivid picture of the thing.

But there is one piece against the stone that does not match the shadows and patterns — it stands against the gray as pure black. Asajj then understands that the presence of the Force in this cave is not from anything ethereal or ancient to this place, it is because of the shadow. This… _man._

She loosens her sabers, which stay hanging in the air. They twirl around her, like moths attracted to light, and swat the blaster bolts away from her. Again, without intent of killing. It's unnecessary, her hands are more than capable of keeping up with the blasts, but he's taunting her and she doesn't like much at all. Somehow she knows that the man before her is the one who single-handedly broke the Jedi Order. So perhaps to flaunt her inner-strengths like this is to throw arms in the air and say, _"Here I am."_

The black shape shifts and takes one slow step forwards, his outline shifting with his slow gait, shape still reaching back to the wall. Likely a cape. He bows his helm, and the light kicks up far enough to reveal the expressionless mask. More machine than man, but just as powerful as any organic. He breathes, and it echoes all around. She can feel the air push against his burnt lip, and she admittedly flinches when he extends a closed fist to the air.

The bolts stop, and her lightsabers return to their hilt, though her fingers twitch with the anticipation of reignition. In the dark of the cave, she can still see the flat features of his black mask. Mostly the eyes and mouthpiece, they reflect blue light.

The man cocks his head to the side, and in a deep, booming voice, says, "_You will bring me Ahsoka Tano_."

Huh. No _Hello!_ Or anything. The Sith really haven't changed…

… also …

… Ahsoka Tano? Of all names to call forth, he chooses her? Why? So thoroughly unremarkable… and dead (most importantly).

"I cannot," Asajj hisses, finding some self-satisfication in not granting the Sith Lord the title of Master. "Ahsoka Tano is dead, _My Lord_."

Her brow furrows at those words; she did not mean to give him anything, yet so used to working for powerful people like him in recent years, she nevertheless slips.

"_She lives_," the man says. "_I sense her. You will find her and deliver her to me, my apprentice."_

Apprentice? How presumptuous. She snorts. She laughs at this stupid man. "I thought there could only be two."

The man, Darth Vader, she now knows, swats the idea away as if it were nothing more than a pesky fly. "_I killed your former Master, Darth Tyrannus. He was weak. He believed that by banishing you that he could become stronger, but that only lead to his pathetic destruction I, on the other hand, do not intend to have this issue."_

Asajj again furrows her brow. What Darth Vader tells her is not the truth: Anakin Skywalker killed Darth Tyrannus, and he died during the Clone Wars. Disappeared on that one day like the rest. Though, perhaps, it doesn't take a leap of faith to assume that Anakin and Vader are one in the same. She remembers the ferocity he fought with, that cocky attitude he probably thought to be quite charming… now broken, now hooked up onto multiple life support systems.

"_Choose your next words carefully, Ventress,_" Vader crosses his arms. "_I will not tolerate slander."_

That seals it. Part of her consciousness drifts for a moment, wondering how this came to be. But footsteps from all around her interrupt her thoughts. Her hands dig into their respective hilts and she smiles, it is easier this way. For her to not know how Anakin Skywalker exists as he is now. His arms drop to their sides and she knows this shall not ever come up again.

But what is slowly crafting a perimeter around here is of no concern. Just Clones, or — what are now known as Stormtroopers. They strike formation, standing as stoically as their Master, aloof to the fact that they were just trying to kill her, probably unaware of how lucky they are to be still alive by her hand.

"I will take the job, but I will not call you my Master. I'm a mercenary, you will pay me and I will leave you with Ahsoka," Asajj says, elbow still crooked so that she can begin to kill at a moment's notice. "But why can't you just do this task? Too busy ruling the Galaxy?" she snarls.

She knows not why she feels contempt for this man. Perhaps a few years ago, she'd feel envy. But now — it's all just rage. For both sides.

Darth Vader looks down at her and considers this. "_She'd rather die than face me again. Now go. I want her alive."_

* * *

"Come for me, they have," Yoda whispers as the head of a Stormtrooper drops to the wooden floorboards. He holds a scabbed talon to his lips and ushers for Ahsoka to follow him, grabbing hold of his cane.

Ahsoka draws her cloak closer to her chest, unable to take her eyes off of the fallen Stormtrooper. It's not the first she's seen die since Emperor Palpatine seized absolute power, but it still doesn't sit well with her. These are men she fought besides, sometimes befriended. Now, they have turned for whatever reason. Whether it was set-up from the onset or not, she doesn't know. It doesn't really matter. They're people, yet warriors like Yoda slaughter them as if they are fodder.

It's confusing living in this post-Jedi world. All Ahsoka really knows is to never to take the helmet off the Stormtroopers if she is forced to kill. It makes it easier. Though ideally, it doesn't come to that.

"Too quiet, it is," Yoda mumbles. "Leave Dagobah, you must."

Ahsoka narrows her eyes once Yoda turns his back. Obi-Wan was the easier one to find of the two, and clearly the easier one to talk to. But Obi-Wan won't help the rebels because he has some sort of 'role' to fulfill on Tatooine. Ahsoka doesn't know if that's true, but she lets it be.

Yoda on the other hand has no excuses. No divine 'role.' But he asks her to leave right off the bat. She wouldn't be surprised if he was currently _thankful_ for the easy exit the Stormtroopers provide. Yoda was never very good at talking… and that's not just because of the backwards speech pattern thing. Which apparently you're not allowed to make fun of.

(Anakin did teach her so much bad behavior.)

Yoda uses the Force to open the window and leaps out into the air. Immediately, blasters fire off yet somehow, Yoda stops them. All six bolts freeze in the air, mere inches from his scalp, shimmering like they're glitches in the fabric of reality, only reigniting into movement once Yoda drops out of sight.

Ahsoka leans back into the shadows, listening to the six troopers chase after him. She gives it five minutes, allowing Yoda ample time to bring them far away, before walking out the door. Though immediately upon exiting, she is faced by a wall of Stormtroopers. Twenty one to be exact —

— why were they waiting for _her_ of all people? she wonders, but not for too long because the Stormtroopers fire —

— and she has no choice but to throw up her twin sabers (which are now white, she let go of the green ones as part of some task that at the time felt symbolic and empowering), carefully pivoting her hold to avoid deflecting a bolt back at the troopers.

The second she gets an opening, she leaps high into the air and into the trees. They fire after her but it's too late; she's on the move.

* * *

What would twenty one Stormtroopers want with Ahsoka Tano? Or rather — what do they _not_ want with Yoda? He's the all powerful, legendary one, not her. She's just some dumb kid. No matter how confident you are in your technique, it is obvious that taking on someone like Yoda requires an army. Even twenty one is a little low for someone like Ahsoka.

Meaning there is someone else headed the pack. Someone strong enough for Yoda — or… or Ahsoka… they probably didn't know Yoda was here.

Hmph.

Perched in a tree, a half hour passes. Whoever is behind this must be a powerful Sith Lord — probably this horrible Darth Vader figure. Only someone who knows the Force inside and out would be capable of finding the signatures of the Force on Dagobah — Ahsoka does not happen to be one of those strong enough. It took bartering and mercenary work to get here.

So gently, she brushes away the leaves before her with the Force, hoping to peek out and see what is beneath her. But the moment she taps into that power, a blaster bolt nails the branch at her feet. She tumbles from up above, face-first. The Stormtrooper who located her holds up an electric saber, and swings at where she'll land.

She can't hesitate, she's not dying here in this swamp. She draws her sabers and they cross at the mid-section of his blade, sparks flying. He shoves her off, arcing her through the air where she lands on her feet. He charges at her, swinging madly, making it all too easy for him to be chopped apart. But Ahsoka doesn't do that. She wants to save this man. Kinda impromptu of her, but it'd be nice.

So she moves back with each of his thrusts, stuffing one of her blades back into the hilt. When the opening becomes apparent, she swings at his club with her saber from below, shoving it high above his head. Her right hand splays out and with a clenching of her fingers, a horrible surge blasts into his mind and he passes out on the ground.

Of course with one Stormtrooper comes more. Two Stormtroopers come from between the trees and fire away. Easy to block and evade, but the moment she finds her opening to render them unconscious from afar, two more Stormtroopers come from behind, which unfortunately requires her other hand. Both blades spin now, her mind barely conscious of movement and where to be. She just moves, though it scares her — trusting the Force and moving with its sway also edges her close to killing these men.

Because the Force has no issues with death. Long as it doesn't tip the scale of anything Light or Dark, the Force wills it.

Eventually, Ahsoka does kill one. The blaster bolt strikes him in the throat. He groans and falls face first into the mud, a tightening in Ahsoka's chest. That was not her intent. Yet as if that weren't enough, her second blade mirrors the same killing deflect to one of the Stormtroopers from behind, though he dies to a blaster bolt square in the head.

She quickly sheathes her sabers, they can't be trusted. Nothing the Jedi do can be trusted.

'Course it's far harder dodging the blades on her own instincts. Her moves are unpredictable when she works like this and though Anakin adored that about her, it wasn't anything the Jedi liked. Not even Obi-Wan, and he's the kind of guy to drop down from a ceiling and go, _"Hello there!"_

Meaning Ahsoka is a little untrained here, which is how she takes a shot to the knee.

A dark, brooding voice she's never heard before booms in her head, "_Yield, Skips. You cannot win this."_

Great, so now she's losing her effin' mind. The Ghost of Anakin Skywalker, wow. What's next? A Force Projection of him? Please. Be so kind.

Stooping over, Ahsoka growls and raises her hand towards one of the Stormtroopers ahead of her. Dirt spikes from the ground, crashing into the man and knocking him flat on his back. She feels him falling free from consciousness and pivots to face the final Stormtrooper, who fires a blaster bolt square at her chest.

Ahsoka remembers what Yoda did with the six blaster bolts, and tries to replicate it with just one. She feels her hands sifting through the air, nails digging into the shimmering hot surface of the bolt, little flares cutting into her skin like tendrils. But she pulls back and for a moment, it feels like a success. But then the bolt breaches and nails her in the outstretched palm.

(An instinctual Force Push against the incoming bolt helps ease the burns a little, dissipating the pain over a wider range than it should, which is what shoves Ahsoka flat on her back.)

Everything hurts, her mind rattles like it might slip out of her eyes and dribble into the ground. She peeks past her chest to see the Stormtrooper running at her with his electric club. He raises it over his head and swings it at her chest — and she does note the intentionality of the club being shifted into a knock-out mode — but her hands lash out and grab him by the wrists, pushing him back.

The electricity crackles before her eyes, loud and violent. Eventually, it becomes too much and she's too consumed with rage to use her desired tactics — how can she resist when this obscene power makes it so easy for her hands to wreak havoc — and she squeezes his helmet in, cutting off his air circulation. He falls to the ground, as does she, trying to regain her barings.

"_Ahsoka_," the dark voice urges again. So oily, so… seductive. But she can't.

Ahsoka gets onto her elbows and knees, crawling over to the writhing Stormtrooper. She grabs the helmet and tries to pry it off of him with the Force, but he fights against her — likely because he has no will of his own to live. He kicks her in the stomach and grabs at something in one of his many holsters, and she hesitates — twisting his helmet (and his neck) — finally killing him. He drops to the ground and she punches the dirt.

She hates war.

"Anakin," she says out loud. "Is this what went through your mind when you… killed?"

He doesn't respond this time. Either because she pissed off the spooky ghost of Anakin Skywalker, or because she's crazy and is yelling at no one in particular.

Doesn't matter. None of it does.

But she did just kill someone when he was just trying to knock her out.

* * *

Ahsoka knows that she should wait to reconvene with Yoda, but she's bleeding and weak, and Yoda is unlikely to say anything useful. So she hobbles through the swamp, carelessly throwing the Force around to knock out soldier after soldier. But she doesn't kill any of them at least. She has that kind of flexibility to her in this moment.

Eventually, she reaches her X-Wing, but of course finds a cloaked figure waiting for her. They face the X-Wing, neck craned up, hood drawn over their skull. Childish though it may be to think this, she dares try his name.

"Anakin?"

A high pitched huff from the figure and she turns around, lowering the hood to her shoulders, revealing a pale face that resembles a skull. A little jolt in Ahsoka's chest, but she readies her sabers.

"I thought you were through with the Sith, Asajj," Ahsoka scowls, leaning back.

"_Hmph_. I am," Asajj scoffs, head held so proudly. "I'm a mercenary, I take money to do jobs for people. Even if they are Sith. Though I'll admit…" Asajj thinks of her deceased master and nearly licks her lips. "...I like this one."

"You work for Lord Vader?"

"I prefer _hired by_," Asajj steps forward, cloak still wrapped around her body. White eyes surely prick up at the sight of Ahsoka's drawn blades, but she stays so perfectly still. "I am to deliver you to him."

"Over my dead body."

"Hmph," Asajj sticks her chin into the air. "Lord Vader would not like that — " Her scowl lifts into an ugly smirk, twisting the thin layers of skin on her bony face into something ugly. " — though I admit I don't mind."

The clearing remains still. Odd.

"Um," Ahsoka smiles. "That's a weird to say if you're just going to stand there and do nothi— "

Red sabers blast out from the veil of the trees, attacking Ahsoka on both sides. Fortunately, Ahsoka's quick enough on the draw that she meets the blades with her own, shoving them off of her. She tries to dart at Asajj herself, but the blades zoom in and out, somehow moving even faster than the blaster bolts, and it keeps Ahsoka on the defense.

From yards away, Asajj smiles to herself. It feels good to slaughter again.

"_You do not do as I ask_," Darth Vader's voice thunders in her eardrums. Before, his tone was silky, even-tempered. This voice is not that. It rattles her from within, barely contained. She immediately falls to her knees, an invisible hand clenching her thin neck.

Hard to speak with his hand there, amazing that Darth Vader has such _reach._ Almost makes her want to bow to him to learn how to replicate this technique. But she chokes instead and in a thin voice, hisses, "I just want to see if the girl is worth your time my lor— "

His hold on her becomes tighter, though the invisible fingers miss their marks, some sliding as far as her jaw. Painful though their grip may be, inescapable and ruthless, inevitable in causing death, this hold will not kill her as soon as he would like. Not that this is a time to be critical.

Red clashes with white so rapidly that it is a pink light that illuminates the finer details of the muddy ground, Ahsoka moving so fast she fails to even notice the prone form of her rival. Though these are not Asajj's strokes, Vader has somehow taken command of her sabers too. The sight of it bruises her ego.

"_Call off your sabers or you will find them calling you off."_

Asajj groans and reaches through the Force, silencing her blades mid-flight. Her other hand shoots out and clenches, Ahsoka's eyes rolling up into her head before she flops face-first into the mud. The grip releases itself from Asajj, and this cold feeling washes all over her body before slinking away.

Asajj straightens her back and takes one step forward before Darth Vader speaks again, his speech clipped and impatient. "_Now bring her to me."_

"I know that, you dolt," she scowls.

* * *

Ahsoka awakens in a strange, silver room, each of her limbs contained in some kind of restraining device. Nothing she hasn't dealt with before, but it's also been a while. There's this odd throbbing in her head that commands the most of her attention, but the moment she really focuses on it, the pain leaves her, like a hand pulling away.

Immediately, metal doors slide open and the cloaked Asajj Ventress steps in. The doors slide shut behind her and they are alone.

"Why are you doing this?" Ahsoka asks.

A wry smile crosses Asajj's skull. "Lord Vader wishes to see you."

"Ah," is all Ahsoka can think of saying.

"Don't worry, he requested that I not kill you."

Ahsoka levels her gaze and thinks. She whispers, "I knew that already."

Asajj's white eyes widen enough to express the surprise. "What makes you so certain of _that_?"

Ahsoka doesn't blink, holds her stare quite well. Draws from the Force to form her words. "He was controlling you — your sabers moved in a different style than your usual."

"I just learned some new techniques is all," Asajj mumbles, though much to her annoyance, that just shifts Ahsoka's stern face into a grin. "Don't you look at me like that, I — "

"You don't want to hurt me either," Ahsoka says, chin perking upwards.

Asajj hesitates. Waits for it to settle over, then shakes her head. "Your Jedi Mind Tricks don't work on me you slime—"

"Oh, no mind tricks," Ahsoka manages to shrug despite her peeled back arms. "Just observing. You're doing this because you're scared, because you — "

"Shut up!" Asajj snaps, but Ahsoka continues unphased. Very annoying.

" — miss being important," Ahsoka continues, "But you haven't thought it through, you — "

"Enough!" Asajj shrieks, clawing at the air, baggy sleeve shimmering like a sail. "No more of this. I've only come here to check in on you and forewarn you, because this is the last you'll see of me I promise."

Asajj draws closer. Close enough that she notices how her chest slopes along Ahsoka's like twin swan necks. She shifts her jaw so that some of her teeth show, and they do clench in her rage.

Ahsoka nods and looks at the floor, a little doleful. "How did you find me?"

Asajj finds her heart rate slowing. She heaves a deep breath, loosening the grip on her hilt. There is no reason for _that_ right now. "Your usage of the Force leaves a powerful signature that's not hard for me to trace — you know that already though. Sloppy work, assuming the old coot would dwarf your aura."

"I'm assuming your Stormtroopers didn't come back from chasing him?" Ahsoka gently suggests.

"Not _my_ Stormtroopers but yes," Asajj drawls. "Hmph, I don't understand why you're so sad about them. They're just Clones."

"I worked with them Asajj," Ahsoka looks up. "They were my friends. I feel the same way towards you."

Asajj's brow furrows. "We were on opposite sides — "

" — _most of the time_, sure, but we did work together when — "

" — I don't count that as — "

"Why?"

Asajj hesitates. "Because — because I was weak. I'm strong now. Working for men like Darth Vader, it suits me I think. Though I can see why you don't applaud me for it."

Ahsoka just nods. Shrugs again. Another failed attempt at… something. Asajj isn't sure what her game is, though that way her head dips down to the chest is upsetting. It makes Asajj want to palm her jaw and lift it to her lips.

But _that_ would be inappropriate, especially for a captive - captor relationship, and of course this is all in the name of Darth Vader… or… Anakin Skywalker.

Asajj _could_ tell her, but that might be cruel. She knows that the two were close, and even Asajj feels angry regarding his clear cut betrayal. Darth Tyrannus turned on the Jedi as well, but not in such dramatic fashion. Anakin _exterminated_ the Jedi, wiped them from history, yet, knowing Ahsoka, she'll try to _save_ him.

Oof.

It would help Ahsoka more to tell her _now_, though Asajj doesn't quite know the words. She can't do it, can't be the messenger for this.

Ahsoka furrows her brow again, mind locking onto something far-off. "I sense something," she says abruptly. "A-a presence I've not felt since…" Her pupils dilate and she cranes her neck higher, looking for something in the plain white mass of the ceiling.

Asajj waits for some time, and eventually snaps. "Since _when?_ I don't like this wishy washy — "

The doors open from behind, sending a chill up her spine. She turns and finds a Stormtrooper waiting for her eye contact. He begins speaking right away: "Commander Ventress, Lor—"

"_Him_?!" Ventress snaps, raising an eyebrow towards Ahsoka.

Ahsoka's face becomes very stoic as she looks the Stormtrooper over from head to toe. "No, I don't know this Clone," she pouts.

"Then who are you sensi—"

"With all due respect, Commander Ahsoka," the Clone raises his hand. "We did fight together in the war. You told me a story over some Jawa Juice after — "

"It's not _him_, that's not what I sense," Ahsoka cocks her head forward. "Don't you feel his presence, Asajj?"

Asajj almost wants to claw a hole in her head, that is so vague and so typically Jedi of her. That's why the two of them can never work. These obnoxious, self-righteous, conservative, celeba —

"Commander Ventress," the Clone says with some urgency. "Lord Vader has just boarded our ship."

The lights go out in Ahsoka's eyes immediately and she suddenly seems very withdrawn. It takes a moment for Asajj to understand what has transpired for her — and of course it's the dual nature of Anakin Skywalker and Vader. Ahsoka felt Anakin but now believes herself to be mistaken.

Might be _the_ moment to say something, might also be_ the_ moment to let it pass.

…

Asajj just hopes that Vader doesn't tell her the truth. Maybe kill her before any words are spilt.

"Commander," the Clone repeats. "Lord Vader has — "

"I heard you the first time you twit!" Asajj snaps. "He's not supposed to be here, I was to deliver Ahsoka to him and — that impatient bra—don't tell Vader I said that. Go. I'll catch up soon and talk to him."

The doors glide open and shut again, leaving the two women alone.

Ahsoka lifts her head, and her eyes are so wide, so horribly gray in this moment. It's pitiful.

"Is Lord Vader going to try to kill me?"

"No," Asajj says quickly.

Ahsoka furrows her brow, almost as if it's an insult. She is a key component of this Rebel Alliance apparently. "How do you know that? Did he say that explicitly?"

"No," Asajj shrugs, which feels bad. She owes this woman more feeling than that.

"So what makes you say that — "

"Because Lord Vader only kills _Jedi_."

A smile finally crosses between them, then door glides open again and Ahsoka is left alone.

* * *

"You are not going to kill her, are you?"

Darth Vader looks straight at her, seemingly uncomfortable with her height. He reads to her as a man that likes to look down at people (he'd have better luck bullying Ewoks than people like _her._)

"_No_," Vader says with absolute passivity. "_I will just talk to her_."

Anakin Skywalker never spoke like this, never brooded so tonelessly. He was always rocking with feeling, his touch to the Force a turbulent one. This man is so far removed from that — perhaps something to do with his whole ensemble of life support machines.

They stand still for some time, Vader's expressionless mask doing her no favors. "_Ah, you stand in my way because you desire payment, yes_."

She bows her head. That _should_ be the reason.

"_You make it all too easy,_" Vader almost chuckles. There's more mirth to his dulcet tones than usual. "_That was what we call an __**easy out**__, Asajj. But very well, let's lay the truth bare. You stand before me because you have feelings for Ahsoka…_"

A jolt to her chest. She meets Vader's eyes.

"_Yes, yes, I can sense it,_" Vader pauses this time to laugh and it's not — it's not what one wants to hear from laughter. It's so soft, too childish for a man of his stature. But he never really grew up, did he? "_I sense your conflict. It is no wonder that Tyrannus dropped you from his control._"

"_Hmph_," Asajj chuckles herself. "You say it as if your own conflict is so hidden. I can understand why you sought fit to destroy the Jedi because of your cursed _feelings_ — "

Vader lurches forward and his gloved fist grabs her by the throat, lifting her high into the air. The Stormtroopers flanking him raise their blasters for a moment, seemingly unprepared for such violence from their cool headed master.

It's the one time that she can see past the mask, see the glint of yellow eyes glaring up at her, wrinkling his charred skin into something hideous and angry. Oh, how it gives her delight to see his weakness: his humanity.

Asajj doesn't flinch, doesn't wince, does nothing. Nothing to give him any satisfaction. Eventually, he grows weary of it all and tosses her to the side, hitting a powerful stride down the hall. He makes it past one security door before turning back to face her, his tone sharper than usual.

"_You will follow my men where they will pay you, and see you out through the escape pod we have prepared,_" Vader explains. "_I suggest you move fast and far, for when I turn Ahsoka to __**my side**__, she will come for you and kill this thing you feel called __**love**__._"

She almost snaps back at him, but finds a peaceful place within herself. She breathes in. She breathes out. "Ahsoka will not turn for you."

"_Possibly not,_" Vader chirps. "_It will be decided soon. You'll know. If I do kill her, I'll make sure you hear her scream._"

"My, what a sadist you've become, Skywa—" Asajj freezes, finding some common sense before continuing. Though the dull throbbing in the Force around her neck says that Vader is already prepared to strangle her for the third time. "I thought you only existed to eradicate the Jedi, and you of all people would know who the people are that turned their back on the Order."

Vader remains perfectly still, no ill will in the Force this time. Surprising that comeback came tantrum-free. "_I do mostly focus my work on killing the Jedi. But for those are not with me? Tthat leaves them as my enemy. Goodbye Asajj._"

* * *

It takes many turns in many halls before the Stormtroopers find the room where they pay Asajj off in her much desired credits.

Vader does pay handsomely.

But while checking that the credits are good and worth her labor, she senses something. Pain from far away, but she's already known of that, it's Ahsoka's dread and it began early into the arduous stroll down the halls. More closely, she feels a prickling in her spine.

With no hesitation, she ignites one of her lightsabers and it blasts backwards, reaching through the stomach of a Stormtrooper that approaches her from behind. He dies, blaster falling from the back of her head and onto her shoulder, where it rolls into her hands. She lifts the thing and kills the second Stormtrooper before he can even find his blaster.

Great.

Not only is she now an enemy of the Galactic Empire because of Ahsoka Tano, she actually feels _guilt_ over killing these infernal Stormtroopers because of Ahsoka Tano.

Well…

… she supposes it would be discourteous to then not visit Ahsoka, and — ahem — not tell her how wretched she is to poison Asajj's consciousness like this.

Tsch. For a man like Vader who is so skilled in the sway of the Force, he misread the signs. Her? In love with Ahsoka? What kind of reading is that? The fool.

Yes, she does like Ahsoka — ah, but that's not worth digging into. She needs to move, there's still time. She just hasn't heard Ahsoka's pathetic screams echo through her mind yet, so she's still alive — and probably giving Vader a hard time. She gives everyone a hard time, she's so —

— ugh, perhaps Asajj is lying to herself. Perhaps she is in love, or has been in love, or whatever. Awful. Simply awful.

* * *

When the door opens and the black figure glides into the room alone, Ahsoka says nothing, her breathing matching the slow pace of Vader's ragged breaths.

He gets close, close as Asajj did, though it is far from comforting. He extends a gloved hand to her, stroking a finger down the length of her jaw.

His voice echoes everywhere.

"_Skips..._"

She sighs. There's obviously a lot of questions but something about this makes too much sense. Though it's far removed from anything she ever imagined. Of all people to turn…

"_Skips, look at me,_" he says, voice nowhere near its old warmth. How is she supposed to respond to this?

Ahsoka looks up, eyes half-lidded. She loves Anakin Skywalker, but she has sworn if she ever encountered this man — this… Darth Vader — that she would cut him down where he stands. For what he did to her friends, to the galaxy.

Her voice is somehow colder than this, "Obi-Wan told me that on Mustafar he cut down an unknown Sith Lord who was instrumental in Palpatine's coup d'etat."

Vader says nothing, just continues to draw those heavy breaths.

Ahsoka forces it from her throat. "Was that you, Anakin?"

More silence. Eventually, Vader's shoulders open up, revealing the full extent of his girth. "_Where is he?_"

She sneers, not meaning to. "I'll never tell you that."

"_Why?_" Vader asks quickly, the old familiar temper rising, making it all too easy for Ahsoka to bridge the gap between him and Anakin. "_The Jedi betrayed you, Ahsoka — you deserve more. Tell me where to go._"

"I don't understand," Ahsoka growls. She has to stay angry, otherwise she'll cry. "Asajj was able to trace me to — " she almost slips and says Dagobah and it's possible Vader already knows, but it's better for it to remain a mystery. " — whereever I was hiding. Why can't you?"

"_Because you know of Darth Vader, the killer of the Jedi, so the Force protects you from me,_" Vader drones on, so odd of him to speak about the Force with such knowledge, such… lust. Never his style. "_The Force is sometimes misguided though, I didn't understand that until I found my new Master. We Sith use the Force in ways that Jedi cannot possibly imagine. Do not be deceived by the signs, it's a__** good thing**__ that we meet here today, Ahsoka_."

"What happened to you, Anakin?" she rasps.

His chin momentarily dips down and the gesture speaks volumes. She's already used to the black mask that makes it impossible to decipher his feelings, she's sure that Palpatine orchestrated this all so he could be contained like this. Stripped of everything that was once him.

Above all else, Ahsoka wants to help him. Maybe there's time.

"_I found the answers to my questions,_" Anakin responds. She has to remember his true name for his redemption to be possible. "_You would be satisfied by them, that is why I have brought you here. I want you to join me._"

Ahsoka cranes her neck as high as it can go. "No."

He doesn't flinch. "_How can you say 'No' when you haven't imagined the possibilities? Think of what we can do together." _So confident, so unwavering. Cocky as ever. Again, it's obvious now that this is Anakin.

She opens her mouth to retort, but twin beams of red pierce the metal door behind them, parting ways to carve a circle out in the wall. Vader turns on his feet, gloved hand falling to his hilt.

Nice to know that Asajj has returned for her; her heart skips a beat in fact, but what on Earth is she doing? That's obviously not going to work. Not when facing one of the most powerful Jedi — no, _Sith_ — to walk this galaxy.

The blades crackle and the metal splits apart, some of it melting into the floor. Vader, likely suffering from a bit of impatience, pulls free his saber — which of course is red — and waits. When Asajj's sabers do finish the job, finishing at the bottom of the circle, they withdraw back to the other side of the gate. Another moment passes and then suddenly the cut-out circle surges through the melted gap, but instantaneously it freezes before Vader who spares little energy freezing it in place. It flips forward and then zooms back into the gap.

As it passes through, Asajj's black shadow lands on top of the metal surface. Its feet patter against the steel and then land on the floor, two gray tubes of metal flying from her hands and over Vader's head. Vader growls and lunges at the figure, hood falling back to reveal her white face, and all she does is dodge. No sabers to speak of —

— which is because the metal devices she lobbed ahead were her sabers —

— and are now igniting and slashing through the metal restraints formerly holding her back.

The sabers drop into Ahsoka's freed hands and she gives them a quick spin, falling into a fight stance. They feel no different than her own but the red coloring is certainly triggering. She wishes that Asajj changed her blades to a different color like she did, but maybe that's expecting too much. Maybe the other survivors don't feel the same weight on their shoulders like she does.

Ahsoka darts forward, both blades raised high into the air. She swings down towards one of Vader's arms — the one she knows is mechanical — because she means to incapacitate him, not kill. Anything but kill. But her blades merely strike a floating green one that seems to come from nowhere. A second green lightsaber rises to greet her, swiping at her face. Ahsoka stumbles back, moving quickly to block the incoming blades.

Green.

She used to use green.

Vader pauses, using the Force to press Asajj against the wall like a flattened butterfly. He looks past his shoulder towards her. "_I replaced your sabers with your old ones — the green does so much for you, Skips._"

It makes her nearly vomit.

* * *

Asajj wills the Force to push against Vader's hold, giving her enough wiggle room to slip back. She leaps out of the entranceway, Vader immediately chasing after her, moving at impossible speeds for someone so mechanical. She _just_ dodges a swipe that would cleave the jaw from her skull.

Asajj leans back, panting.

"_You were foolish to come back,_" Vader says, back still perfectly straight, breathing still even. "_How does it feel to lose to me? I've always wondered. Few have lasted this long."_

"I haven't lost yet," she sneers, partially regretting leaving those dirty credits behind.

"_Ha_," Vader chuckles. "_You've sacrificed your only weapons to protect your friend, which I of course, have already countered. You have nothing and now you will die."_

Asajj almost says something snippy, but notices something past Vader's hulking shoulder. Ahsoka, once twirling with the onslaught of those floating green blades, is now still as can be. She smirks, firing off a wink at Asajj, and Force Pushes her two red blades to the corners of the room. The green lightsabers, like moths to a light, drift after the red ones, still in attack mode.

Asajj smirks and looks to Vader. "I have far more than you give me credit for. You're the one trying to unbury your rotting past."

"_That's very hurtful,_" Vader drawls, advancing towards her a smidge more quickly. He raises his red blade high, but Asajj isn't running away this time. There's no reason to. Not when Ahsoka is coming in from behind.

* * *

Ahsoka doesn't know what comes over her, but seeing her former best friend about to kill what could be her new best friend sends spikes of rage cascading through her whole body. She raises her hands and though she only intends to yank Vader back with a Force Pull, she does much more than that.

Force Lightning is something that can only be crafted by those who are truly gone —or at least that's what the Jedi taught her. It aligns with all of the other monotone teachings about the horrible enemy that is _basic emotions and feelings_.

However, Ahsoka isn't disturbed by that. She knows the Jedi are wrong about emotions; it's not as if Ahsoka had no reason to leave the Order. Beyond the fake accusations and how quickly her _friends_ bought into it, there were certain fundamental values they differed on. So she smiles when the electricity spikes from her palm, its tendrils striking Vader in the back.

Vader's body twists around, blue light throttling through his whole body. He tumbles over as if broken like a toy. The box at his chest sputters, the limbs twist under him (but they're mechanical, Ahsoka assumes, it's not like she crippled him, Obi-Wan already saw to that), and his cape smokes. He looks up from the crumpled heap he's quickly been reduced to, breathing accelerating in pace before dying out completely.

Wordless: he has nothing to say.

Ahsoka reaches forward and takes Asajj's hand, and it's surprisingly warm to her for something so clammy. She gives a parting glance to Vader before stepping away…

… and Vader speaks, the voice not deep like before, now reduced to its old pitch. But it's not Anakin, the Snarky Pilot, speaking. This is his rage.

"Skips," he grunts. "Don't go. Stay with me."

Ahsoka stops in place, arm holding onto Asajj extending until parallel with the floor. Asajj gazes back at her, but Ahsoka ignores her look of dismay.

Vader reaches out. "Join me. Think about it. I'm in the optimum position, the right hand man to the Emperor. But he's old, far weaker than me — than you — than _us._Think of what we can do."

Ahsoka hesitates.

"Yes, I sense it within you, Ahsoka," Anakin says, voice ragged and harsh, gasping between words for air. "There's conflict."

But there is no conflict. That's not how Ahsoka feels at all.

"You hate the Jedi, like I do, Snips, and know this…"

Two Stormtroopers come out from a hallway and grip Vader by the underarms, lifting the smoking husk over their shoulders. One of Vader's arms elbows a Stormtrooper and they drop him.

"Lord Vader, we need to — you can't live without — "

Vader's saber ignites, piercing the Stormtrooper through the heart. It twirls through the air and decapitates the other one. The bodies hit the floor the same time as Vader, who keeps himself propped up off of one arm. He continues as if uninterrupted, "I have no attachment to the Sith. Obviously you don't _— _and _that — _that is how _we_ will restore balance to the For_—_"

"Goodbye, Anakin."

"—ce and—g-goodbye? What do you — no, Skips, you don't — come back! COME BACK! YOU OWE IT TO ME, YOU — "

Anakin's voice is silenced by the sliding of mechanical doors.

Ahsoka almost slumps into tears, so Asajj takes the lead, reaching for Ahsoka's back and rubbing small circles into it.

* * *

Asajj drops Ahsoka off in the escape pod, turning to leave when the door snaps shut before her. She could probably force it open herself but against her better judgment, she turns to look down at Ahsoka, who cradles one of her arms as if it's dying.

"You will let me go," Asajj hisses. "I need to recover my lightsabers."

"No, you don't," Ahsoka murmurs. "You just have a death wish, or something. Come. Sit with me." She pats the spot next to her.

Ugh. So peppy, so aggravating. Asajj yields and sits besides Ahsoka, the pod blasting off and throttling into space — who knows where it will take them.

"Are you alright?" Asajj asks, not sure why she cares really. Anakin Skywalker was always scum, now it's just really obvious that —

"No," Ahsoka smiles, meeting Asajj's eyes, tear trickling down her cheek. "But I think it'll be okay. At least I sort of know now what really happened. You know, for a moment there, I wanted to save him."

Ahsoka's hand lands on Asajj's thigh and _that_ is something she doesn't mind at all. Fingers grip the cloak, and Asajj mirrors the act herself. It feels… nice.

"What made you change your mind?" Asajj's thin lips get close to Ahsoka's plump ones, mouth barely parting, breath hot.

Ahsoka's lips part for Asajj's, and they kiss for some time. But before that, Ahsoka says something powerful. Something no one has ever said to Asajj before, might never say again. Unless she stays with this woman.

"I decided it was more important to save you."

**Author's Note:**

> Yo, so that thing they do in this fic where they use the Force to make their lightsabers float? That shit's fucking cool. Dual-edged lightsabers? Whatever man. That's not cool. The floating thing though? Hell yeah. 
> 
> Is there any Star Wars canon that uses that technique? Plz lmk.


End file.
